He got more than Tyler Johnson did this summer, who’s been among the league’s best playoff performers in recent years and was a season away from unrestricted free agency.

He got more than Alex Galchenyuk, who has 75 per cent more NHL points. It’s more than Mika Zibanejad got with the New York Rangers.

It’s more than the $29.4 million US deal the Columbus Blue Jackets signed with Alexander Wennberg, a centre taken in the same draft as Horvat who has more production and is coming off a 59-point season for a playoff team.

Horvat, who has been a good player on really bad teams, is getting Jonathan Drouin money, a $33 million total deal spread over six years, which means the Canuck are laying out top dollar for his production.

Your take on this depends entirely on how you see these two players. Drouin is potentially an elite first-line winger.

Horvat? Three years into his NHL career, after leading the Canucks in points for the past season and a half, people still aren’t quite sure.

Those people, of course, don’t include the Canucks. You don’t lay out this kind of a deal for a player you control for the next four years unless you’re all in.

In many ways, that part makes perfect sense. In terms of aura and approach, Horvat is everything you’d want in an heir apparent to Henrik Sedin.

He lives and breathes hockey like most people incessantly scroll through their social media feeds.

He may never win an Art Ross or a Hart Trophy and he may never make a pass that will thrust you into the air shouting: “Good god, how did he do that?”

But still, there is something in him that’s very Sedin-like. There is this serene, calming atmosphere which seems to surround and follow him. At least outwardly, he’s never too high after a win, and never crushed after yet another gruelling loss.

Instead, he presents himself like he has it put together, mature and emanating leadership.

Thus far, his personality has been ideal to not only handle the volatility of a Canadian hockey market but to thrive in it.

This has importance. Not everyone can play here.

He’s driven to be better in a way that outpaces many of his peers and it’s that drive which helped produce the most remarkable accomplishment of his pro career.

Tattooed with “middle-six forward with skating issues” at the draft, Horvat has already blown up expectations. It’s funny now to hear people explain the improvements to his skating with “well, he got a good skating coach.”

Everyone has a good skating coach. Very few take the types of leap forward Horvat took.

Six months ago, former head coach Willie Desjardins literally couldn’t explain how it happened:

“The speed difference between the first time I saw him in Penticton and now is unbelievable. I wouldn’t believe that was possible.”

Few would.

This contract is still a gamble. At these kind of dollars, it’s easy to argue a bridge deal made far too much sense.

A couple more 50-plus points seasons with 20 goals, suddenly paying him more than $5 million a year is appears more reasonable.

You see, the Canucks didn’t get any type of hometown discount here.

They spent all summer negotiating and ended up at the very high point of what Horvat is worth while only buying a couple of years of unrestricted free agency.

Horvat’s leverage was hard to measure. He is the blossoming face of the franchise, of course. He may be the guts of the team already and the likely future captain. It seems these things did more.

The Canucks’ leverage was more quantifiable. They were in control of Horvat for years. He’s an unlikely candidate to holdout of training camp. Similarly, there was very little chance any team was going to offer sheet him, mainly because so few players get offer sheets.

Moving forward, the money will change things dramatically for both the Canucks and Horvat. The bar is significantly higher today.

Horvat can no longer be viewed as a third-line centre. He can’t be. Not at these dollars.

He’s being paid like a centre who can average 60 to 65 points a season. But he needs to be put in situations to make it happen.

Because it’s entirely possible his shooting percentage dips and he goes from a 20-goal, 52-point season to a 17-goal, 45-point season.

That’s an entirely plausible scenario. And it wouldn’t be a great look.

Off the ice, the Canucks went all in. Now, they have to go all in on it. Because it’s not going to go over well if he’s sitting behind both Henrik Sedin and Brandon Sutter all season.

Horvat needs prime real estate. He needs to play with the best wingers. He needs big power-play opportunities, and fewer penalty killing shifts.